Ben Kaufman, 25

Quirky, Founder and chief executive

Ben Kaufman is out to give ordinary people the chance to create new and better products. He calls his mission "making invention accessible."

"We want to build the best consumer product brand in the world with the people of the world," said Mr. Kaufman.

After selling his first startup, Apple accessories company Mophie—which he founded when he was 18—he started a platform for collaborative decision-making called Kluster and then folded it into his current venture, Quirky. It fields ideas for inventions from housewives, students, grandmothers, whoever—some 5,000 per week—and asks a global community of 350,000 Quirky devotees to help refine the most promising ones. Quirky then culls a small subset, prototypes them via 3-D printer and sends them off to factories in Asia and the U.S. for production.

In five years, Quirky has brought 75 products to market and sold them in 35,000 retail outlets, including Target and Bed Bath & Beyond. Last year's revenue of $18.2 million was nearly three times that of 2011, although the company has yet to turn a profit. Quirky shares with citizen inventors 30% of net direct sales and 10% of sales through retailers.

Will the Quirky model revolutionize manufacturing? That's an open question, but Mr. Kaufman has clearly caught the eye of corporate America.

"I don't think a month goes by when he doesn't get a request from big companies asking, 'Can we do something with you?' " says Quirky investor James Robinson IV, managing partner of RRE Ventures.

Complicated decisions lie ahead. "Should Quirky continue to leverage the best retailers in the world or should Quirky become the best retailer in the world?" Mr. Kaufman asked.